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Image Credit: psammophile
It would be hard to miss all the recent news about
global climate change, unless maybe you were
living on another planet
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And even then, if you had a good view of Earth,
from a satellite or another planet, you might
notice that something was going on . . .
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Animation Credit: NASA
Thawing
¿Estoy en
Permafrost
México?
Changes in
Alaska’s
Fisheries
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Photo Credits: Permafrost – Unite Us (University of Alaska); Seiner – Public Domain; Humboldt Squid – NOAA, public domain
Thousands of Walruses Crowding
Onto Arctic Beaches
Photos & Video: U.S. Geological Survey
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What do scientists think is
causing these changes?
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INCREASED GREENHOUSE
EFFECT
Greenhouse gases: carbon
dioxide, methane, water vapor
Burning of fossil fuels
Clearing of vegetation
Increased amounts of sun’s heat
trapped
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Global Average Temperature and Carbon
Dioxide Concentrations, 1880-2006
Global Temperatures
CO2 (Mauna Loa)
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But there are still many questions
How
Howcan
much
warming
study
is
to scientists
investigate
Were
there
other
warm
Earth’s
from human
prehistoric
activity
climate
and
climate
periods
during
patterns
how much
if there
fromwere
Earth’s
no
Earth’s
longcycles?
history?
humans
natural
around
to collect
data?
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At most, our direct scientific
Time
How can
we
gofor
backofin time
measurements
Climate
to investigate
prehistoric
temperature,
carbon
dioxide
Detectives!
changes?
levels,climate
etc.,
extend
back only
about 1½ to 2 centuries before
the present!
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OBJECTIVE
Investigate how modern and
ancient living organisms and
their adaptations provide clues
to Earth’s climate history and
processes that have affected
Earth’s past & present climate
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OBJECTIVE
Analyze fossil indicators to
determine past climate trends
and their changes in ancient
atmosphere, ocean, and landbased systems.
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OBJECTIVE
Experience how different scientific
disciplines (e.g., geology, biology,
oceanography) are
interconnected in conducting
climate research
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A fossil indicator is a type of
proxy data,
a special indirect clue about climate
conditions when direct
measurements are not available
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And Earth’s prehistoric climate
history, reconstructed from fossils
and other proxy data, is called
palaeoclimate
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